Tax hike would pay for pre-K, raises

South Terrebonne High junior Tori Baudoin sings in her role as Ariel during the school's production of “The Little Mermaid” on Friday. The proposed tax increase would help pay for arts programs in parish schools.

Published: Monday, March 11, 2013 at 10:51 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, March 11, 2013 at 10:51 a.m.

Part two of a two-part series on the Terrebonne School Board's plan for a proposed tax increase.

As Terrebonne Parish voters ponder whether to raise the property tax collected for schools, officials are laying out plans for instructional programs they could create with the new money.

The School Board is asking voters for about four times the amount property tax money it currently collects — a measure on the May 4 ballot seeks a 31-mill increase to the 9-mill tax.

A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of a property's value. If voters approve the increase, the tax would increase from 9 mills to 40 mills.

The tax costs the owner of a $150,000 house about $67 a year now; the increase, if approved, would add another $232 to the bill.

School officials argue the increase is necessary because Terrebonne schools collect the lowest property tax in Louisiana. If approved, the new tax rate would match the state average.

The board is set to approve a plan for how to spend that money on Tuesday. Under the plan, proposed by Superintendent Philip Martin and already approved by the board's Finance Committee, 20 of the 31 new mills would pay to boost instructional programs and teacher pay.

The plan goes to the full board for approval at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the School Board's office, 201 Stadium Drive in Houma. Public input is allowed.

Universal Pre-K

At the top of school officials' tax windfall wish-list is expanding pre-K parishwide.

Like most school systems, Terrebonne currently pays for the pre-K classes it hosts using a patchwork of federal grants. That limits the number of seats schools can offer, causing waiting lists at some schools and preventing some students from getting into pre-K classes.

Should voters approve the tax hike, School Board members say, they could afford to offer pre-K to every student whose parents ask for it.

Several studies and surveys have shown that taking pre-K classes can help students academically.

A recent study by the ACT Corp., which administers the college-entrance exam, showed that students who don't take pre-K classes are statistically more likely to get “off-track,” which can have devastating impacts later in their academic careers.

A child who is considered “off-track” by the eighth grade, for example, has less than a 10 percent chance of being ready to take the ACT by his or her senior year, the study shows.

School Board members say that's why it's important to make sure every student gets the training.

“We want everybody to be able to get pre-K,” said board member L.P. Bordelon. “It's very important to us that we don't have to turn anyone away.”

Teacher Pay

Another priority for school officials is increasing employees' pay. The Finance Committee plan would add $4,000 to the base salary for employees on the teacher pay scale and $2,000 to the base salaries for all non-instructional staff.

The current base salary for teachers in Terrebonne is about $38,000. The parish's average teacher salary ranks 45th out of about 70 school districts, according to state Education Department figures.

“We used to be one of the highest-paying school districts. That allowed us to hire some really excellent teachers from outside the parish,” Martin said. “This is not about giving teachers more money. It's about attracting qualified teachers from other places in the state so we have the best possible teachers in front of our students every day.”

Under Martin's plan, that starting salary would jump by $4,000, enough to put the school system in the top 20 statewide.

School Board members argue the pay increases are necessary to keep the school district competitive.

“We can't hold on to teachers when we're paying $4,000 or $5,000 less than the people around us,” Bordelon said. “We need to be paying a competitive salary.”

The tax would also allow the school system to hire more teachers. That would allow the system to prevent class sizes from growing further after years of budget-cut-induced departures.

“Money talks. We've probably cut back about 400 or some-odd positions, and you reach a point where there's nothing you can cut anymore,” Bordelon said. “If we get much more, we're going to start cutting really essential teachers.”

Other Programs

Though universal pre-K and staff raises are the biggest-ticket items on the school system plan, officials say the money would allow other system-wide efforts.

Elementary schools, for example, could see arts programs expanded. Right now, such programs are sparse and largely paid for using grants secured by individual schools or teachers.

“The emphasis on the state level has been to drill the core subjects so hard that we've lost track of the arts,” Martin said. “We believe, and research shows, that this is something that actually helps kids learn. And it gives them a glimmer of something fun instead of a whole day of drills.”

The school district would also create a Success is Required program, which would send top-flight teachers to assist struggling students.

Officials envision a system that would target students whose grades or test scores start to suffer. Should a student fail a test, he or she would spend non-vital class time under the guidance of a tutor, who would re-teach and re-test the material until the student has mastered it.

“We want to be able to say, ‘You will not fail this test. It is not allowed,' ” Martin said. “We just can't afford those extra teachers and resources to do that right now.”

Finally, the plan includes more money for ACT preparation and advanced placement courses. Both programs would help college-bound students get the scores they need to earn acceptance letters and even help them test out of some college courses before setting foot on campus.

Staff Writer Matthew Albright can be reached at 448-7635 or at matthew.albright@dailycomet.com.

<p>Part two of a two-part series on the Terrebonne School Board's plan for a proposed tax increase.</p><p>As Terrebonne Parish voters ponder whether to raise the property tax collected for schools, officials are laying out plans for instructional programs they could create with the new money. </p><p>The School Board is asking voters for about four times the amount property tax money it currently collects — a measure on the May 4 ballot seeks a 31-mill increase to the 9-mill tax.</p><p>A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of a property's value. If voters approve the increase, the tax would increase from 9 mills to 40 mills.</p><p>The tax costs the owner of a $150,000 house about $67 a year now; the increase, if approved, would add another $232 to the bill.</p><p>School officials argue the increase is necessary because Terrebonne schools collect the lowest property tax in Louisiana. If approved, the new tax rate would match the state average. </p><p>The board is set to approve a plan for how to spend that money on Tuesday. Under the plan, proposed by Superintendent Philip Martin and already approved by the board's Finance Committee, 20 of the 31 new mills would pay to boost instructional programs and teacher pay.</p><p>The plan goes to the full board for approval at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the School Board's office, 201 Stadium Drive in Houma. Public input is allowed.</p><h3>Universal Pre-K</h3>
<p>At the top of school officials' tax windfall wish-list is expanding pre-K parishwide.</p><p>Like most school systems, Terrebonne currently pays for the pre-K classes it hosts using a patchwork of federal grants. That limits the number of seats schools can offer, causing waiting lists at some schools and preventing some students from getting into pre-K classes.</p><p>Should voters approve the tax hike, School Board members say, they could afford to offer pre-K to every student whose parents ask for it.</p><p>Several studies and surveys have shown that taking pre-K classes can help students academically.</p><p>A recent study by the ACT Corp., which administers the college-entrance exam, showed that students who don't take pre-K classes are statistically more likely to get “off-track,” which can have devastating impacts later in their academic careers. </p><p>A child who is considered “off-track” by the eighth grade, for example, has less than a 10 percent chance of being ready to take the ACT by his or her senior year, the study shows. </p><p>School Board members say that's why it's important to make sure every student gets the training.</p><p>“We want everybody to be able to get pre-K,” said board member L.P. Bordelon. “It's very important to us that we don't have to turn anyone away.”</p><h3>Teacher Pay</h3>
<p>Another priority for school officials is increasing employees' pay. The Finance Committee plan would add $4,000 to the base salary for employees on the teacher pay scale and $2,000 to the base salaries for all non-instructional staff. </p><p>The current base salary for teachers in Terrebonne is about $38,000. The parish's average teacher salary ranks 45th out of about 70 school districts, according to state Education Department figures.</p><p>“We used to be one of the highest-paying school districts. That allowed us to hire some really excellent teachers from outside the parish,” Martin said. “This is not about giving teachers more money. It's about attracting qualified teachers from other places in the state so we have the best possible teachers in front of our students every day.”</p><p>Under Martin's plan, that starting salary would jump by $4,000, enough to put the school system in the top 20 statewide. </p><p>School Board members argue the pay increases are necessary to keep the school district competitive. </p><p>“We can't hold on to teachers when we're paying $4,000 or $5,000 less than the people around us,” Bordelon said. “We need to be paying a competitive salary.” </p><p>The tax would also allow the school system to hire more teachers. That would allow the system to prevent class sizes from growing further after years of budget-cut-induced departures.</p><p>“Money talks. We've probably cut back about 400 or some-odd positions, and you reach a point where there's nothing you can cut anymore,” Bordelon said. “If we get much more, we're going to start cutting really essential teachers.”</p><h3>Other Programs</h3>
<p>Though universal pre-K and staff raises are the biggest-ticket items on the school system plan, officials say the money would allow other system-wide efforts.</p><p>Elementary schools, for example, could see arts programs expanded. Right now, such programs are sparse and largely paid for using grants secured by individual schools or teachers.</p><p>“The emphasis on the state level has been to drill the core subjects so hard that we've lost track of the arts,” Martin said. “We believe, and research shows, that this is something that actually helps kids learn. And it gives them a glimmer of something fun instead of a whole day of drills.”</p><p>The school district would also create a Success is Required program, which would send top-flight teachers to assist struggling students.</p><p>Officials envision a system that would target students whose grades or test scores start to suffer. Should a student fail a test, he or she would spend non-vital class time under the guidance of a tutor, who would re-teach and re-test the material until the student has mastered it.</p><p>“We want to be able to say, 'You will not fail this test. It is not allowed,' ” Martin said. “We just can't afford those extra teachers and resources to do that right now.”</p><p>Finally, the plan includes more money for ACT preparation and advanced placement courses. Both programs would help college-bound students get the scores they need to earn acceptance letters and even help them test out of some college courses before setting foot on campus.</p><p>Staff Writer Matthew Albright can be reached at 448-7635 or at matthew.albright@dailycomet.com.</p>